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Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Is
there an animal that is more misunderstood, persecuted, and maligned than the
Cottonmouth? If you can think of one, let me know. Cottonmouths tend to mind
their own business and stick to their swamps, but they are fascinating animals.
They fight each other over mates, they eat a wide variety of prey (with different strategies for hunting different creatures), they migrate to take
advantage of amphibian congregations and to escape unfavorable weather
conditions, and they have an incredible warning system: their characteristic
white mouth.

But, is that what the general public thinks of when one speaks of
Cottonmouths? No, we have breeding balls and deadly nests and aggressive snakes
that chase you and try to get into your boats (or drop in), all myths, of
course. And don’t forget all the harmless and non-venomous watersnakes whose
only fault is that they resemble the Cottonmouth too closely and are killed by
the thousands because of mistaken identity. Don’t believe me? Check out
#watermoccasin on Twitter. Not only are all these snakes misrepresented and
feared, but many people don’t even know that Cottonmouths should actually be
the least of their worries: they don’t live anywhere near them. And where there
are no Cottonmouths, watersnakes should be safe, because nobody will make the
mistake of confusing them.

It
is hard to fault most people from being confused about where Cottonmouths can
be found when television programs on Animal Planet actively deceive them. This really should not surprise anyone, given that the channel tries to
convince people that mermaids are real and that shows about killing rattlesnakes are worth watching.

Unfortunately,
I don’t know that many viewers followed the controversy that arose after the
episode aired. For many folks, this show is one more reason to fear any and all aquatic
snakes in eastern Kentucky, even though there are not really any Cottonmouths
there. Too many snakes, including harmless watersnakes, are killed as a result
of this misinformation and fear; Animal Planet is promoting and spreading both.***An earlier version of this post contained an error in the title, thanks to Brian Folt for pointing it out.***